


Iron, Honey, Gold

by Dracomalfoyy



Category: Ironman, MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spiderman - Fandom
Genre: Irondad & Spiderson, and Peter Parker, and here we are, and there’s a thunderstorm, bc the russos ain’t shit, i just really love tony stark, it’s like 3am, like it started as a tony fic, not exactly endgame compliant, so this happened, this didn’t go remotely how I intended, tony stark - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 13:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19947076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracomalfoyy/pseuds/Dracomalfoyy
Summary: Just tony stark reflecting on peter parker. that’s it. that’s the fic.





	Iron, Honey, Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from August 1914 by Isaac Rosenberg

Iron had encased his entire being, made him immortal. It had increased his strength and given him an edge. It had always protected him. 

Honey had dripped from every word. Every press conference, public appearance, interview, had people swarming around him like flies. 

Gold had softened all of his sharp edges and sharp words. It surrounded him like a halo of goodness. A constant glow of gold. 

Gold like the academic decathlon medal Peter had been wearing the last time he came to the lab. It was this cheap, flimsy plastic thing that every kid got in their party bags, or at their kindergarten sports day. Despite this, Peter had worn it with pride for an entire two days, as if it were made from the real stuff. He was an unusual kid for sure. Tony had expected a pompous, arrogant asshole who knew he was good and made sure everyone else knew it too. Instead he’d gotten an awkward nerdy kid who couldn’t lie for shit and blushed every time his intelligence was on show. Peter didn’t come from much, didn’t have much still apart from a guilt complex the size of a planet, but he would never hesitate to give and give and give. He gave until there was nothing left of him but blood and bones. He was admirable and brave and everything Tony wished he could have been when he was a teenager. God knows his life might have been different if he’d been a little more like Peter Parker. 

God knows his life might have been easier if he was a little like Peter Parker. 

He even thought that his life might be easier if he’d never met Peter Parker. 

Ultimately, he was at the root of all of this. You don’t just discover time travel for an intern. If he’d never met Peter Parker, he would have carried on with the new life he’d built, on this farm in the middle of nowhere. He would raise his daughter, grow old with his wife, live until he was grey and squishy. But if he’d never met Peter Parker, he would have no idea how to be a dad. He wouldn’t know that he could hug Morgan without hurting her. He wouldn’t know that kids lash out when they’re scared or sad or tired. He wouldn’t know that he could be a good influence on a pure and innocent soul. 

He told Morgan stories about her brother all of the time. She wanted to know who the boy in the picture on the shelf was. He’d told her because she had him twisted around the little finger of her left hand. The first time he’d tried to talk about Peter after Titan, it had ended in a full blown panic attack and three days of blank staring at the ceiling. The second time, he’d taken the picture out of the kitchen and told Morgan about the day Peter had officially become a Stark Industries intern. After that, it got easier to talk about him. He wanted to talk about him, wanted to make sure everyone knew how clever he was, how generous and kind he was. He’d even dug out the shitty gold medal that Peter had loved so much, that he’d doctored to say ‘no.1 dad’ and given to Tony on the last Father’s Day before the world went to shit. 

Gold, like the colour of the final stone, the biggest one that lay in the centre of his gauntlet. Like the colour that ran up his arm, to his neck as he wielded the infinity stones for the sake of his friends, his family. He’d done all he could now. He’d discovered time travel to get his son back. He’d fought his biggest enemy, a monster who covered his body in gold as an attempt to seem something more than he was. He’d taken the power of all of the infinity stones as the world exploded into tiny pieces of gold. 

White. 

White was pure, new, fresh. White was the colour of the medbay ceiling in the hidden avengers compound in the forest behind his home. White was the colour of the bandages that covered his face, neck and shoulder. White was the colour of the bedsheets in the spot where his arm used to be. White was the colour of the hoodie Pepper was wearing as she slept quietly next to his bed. White was the colour of the hospital gown Peter Parker was wearing as he slept on the other side. 

Three months had passed since the snap. People were lost in the world, trying to find their lives in the dust they left behind. Tony sat by the lake, drinking coffee in the frosty air of the morning. Peter and Morgan ran around the grass in their pyjamas and thick coats. Pepper pressed a kiss to the back of his new hand. The sun rose up over the lake, drenching them in golden light.


End file.
